Minamata

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Minamata

Total population

23,557

Air quality index

41Good

Coordinates32.21°, 130.41°

Demographic figures from Statistics Bureau of Japan. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.

Overview

Minamata is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū and faces Amakusa islands. Minamata was established as a village in 1889, re-designated as a town in 1912 and grew into a city in 1949. As of March 2017, the city has an estimated population of 25,310 and a population density of 160 persons per km2. The total area is 162.88 km2.

Geography

Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.

Air quality

Current readings from Open-Meteo Air Quality API (Copernicus CAMS European reanalysis).

Wildlife & biodiversity

Citizen-science & research observations from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

Earthquake history

Events from the USGS Earthquake Catalog (global) (FDSN Event Web Service).

Notable people from here

Tokutomi Sohō

Japanese writer (1863–1957)

Hisashi Eguchi

Japanese manga artist

Kenjirō Tokutomi

Japanese writer (1868–1927)

K

Ken'ichi Tanigawa

Japanese novelist

K

Kōzō Murashita

Japanese singer-songwriter

Y

Yasuji Uchiyama

Japanese mangaka (1935-2002)

A

Atari Toshio

T

Takashi Morieda

Japanese photographer

A

Atsuko Watanabe

Japanese musician

Gan Tanigawa

Japanese poet

N

Norio Iriguchi

Japanese scientist

H

Hiroshi Nishida

Japanese politician

K

Kazue Yoshitomi

Japanese candidate

Y

Yūji Muta

Japanese singer-songwriter

N

Noboru Nishikawa

astronomer

T

Tetsuya Yoshida

Japanese philosopher

People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.

Nearby places in Kumamoto

• Tsunagi
  2.3 mi away · pop. 4,673
• Ashikita
  7.8 mi away · pop. 17,661
• Kuma
  14.9 mi away · pop. 3,698
• Hitoyoshi
  20.5 mi away · pop. 31,108
• Amakusa
  21.2 mi away · pop. 75,783
• Yamae
  21.3 mi away · pop. 3,422
• Yatsushiro
  23.3 mi away · pop. 123,067
• Nishiki
  25.3 mi away · pop. 10,766
• Sagara
  25.7 mi away · pop. 4,468
• Kamiamakusa
  26 mi away · pop. 24,563
• Asagiri
  28.6 mi away · pop. 15,523
• Itsuki
  29 mi away · pop. 1,055

Browse all places in Kumamoto →

Geography & sun

Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.

Public attention

Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.

Books about Minamata

Search results from Open Library.

Recent natural events nearby

• Kikai Volcano, Japan
  Volcanoes · 2026-05-17 · 98 mi

Wildfires, storms and other events from NASA EONET (last 12 months, within 250 mi).

Recently spotted species

Painted Lady

Vanessa cardui

Seen 2026-03-07

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensis

Seen 2026-03-07

Meadow Bunting

Emberiza cioides

Seen 2026-03-07

Hooded Crane

Grus monacha

Seen 2026-03-06

henbit deadnettle

Lamium amplexicaule

Seen 2026-02-28

Eastern Oriental Turtle Dove

Streptopelia orientalis orientalis

Seen 2026-02-23

Falcated Duck

Mareca falcata

Seen 2026-02-23

Dusky Thrush

Turdus eunomus

Seen 2026-02-23

White-naped Crane

Antigone vipio

Seen 2026-02-23

Research-grade observations from iNaturalist (within ~15 mi).

Gallery

Geotagged photos within ~6 miles of Minamata, from Wikimedia Commons contributors.

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Photos via Wikimedia Commons — see each image page for license & attribution.

Official Identifiers